1. Field
Embodiments relate generally to three-dimensional graphics.
2. Background
Systems exist for navigating through a three-dimensional environment to display three-dimensional data. The three dimensional environment includes a virtual camera that defines what three dimensional data to display. The virtual camera has a perspective according to its position and orientation. By changing the perspective of the virtual camera, a user can navigate through the three dimensional environment.
A geographic information system is one type of system that uses a virtual camera to navigate through a three-dimensional environment. A geographic information system is a system for storing, retrieving, manipulating, and displaying a substantially spherical three-dimensional model of the Earth. The three-dimensional model may include satellite imagery, maps, models of buildings and terrain, and other geographic features. Further, the three-dimensional environment may be used to display geo-located photographs of real world scenes corresponding to various geographic locations. For example, the geo-located photographs may correspond to a network of streets of a major metropolitan city. Such photographs may also include panoramic images that provide 360-degree street-level views.
The virtual camera in the geographic information system may view the spherical three-dimensional model of the Earth from different perspectives. An aerial view of the model of the Earth may show satellite images, but the terrain and buildings may not be displayed. On the other hand, a ground-level view of the model may show the terrain and buildings in detail. However, some views of the model may not be accurate or visually acceptable representations of the image content displayed by the GIS. For example, a photographic image displayed in the GIS may be accurate from only a single viewpoint or range of viewpoints based on, for example, the position of the camera used to capture the image. In conventional systems, navigating between different views of an image in a three-dimensional environment may become difficult and visually unappealing to a user.